


Haunted

by magicalIdiot



Series: A Reimagined Verdant Wind [6]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Gen, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28442634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicalIdiot/pseuds/magicalIdiot
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Ingrid Brandl Galatea & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: A Reimagined Verdant Wind [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799512
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25
Collections: Bread Eaters





	Haunted

Dimitri walks into the training hall looking a little lost, and it makes sense, because there’s no shortage of activity-- the students are hard at work training. “Dimitri!” Sylvain calls out, beckoning him over to the corner that he, Ingrid, and Felix have claimed for themselves. It wasn’t too hard for them to get space because the students gave them a wide berth. Apparently, all of them are legends among the current students. Sylvain can live with that.

Dimitri walks over to them, and he’s about to sit down next to Sylvain, but suddenly, he freezes. Sylvain shoots to his feet. “Dimitri? What’s up, buddy?” Sylvain says, taking Dimitri’s hand in his own and putting his arm around him. “Everything okay?”

Everything is  _ not _ okay. Dimitri is gasping for breath, and his eyes are wide with fear of…  _ something _ , and he isn’t responding. His whole body has gone rigid.

“Dimitri. Hey. You’re safe. You’re here, with me, right now, at Garreg Mach. Ingrid and Felix are over there, too. We’re all here. You’re not alone,” Sylvain says soothingly, rubbing small circles into Dimitri’s back. He doesn’t know what to do in a situation like this, when Dimitri is so clearly panicking about something that Sylvain can’t see, so he just guides Dimitri to the edge of the steps and sits him down and keeps talking. “Just try to breathe. It’s solidly winter right now, and the air is nice and cold. Not as cold as Fhirdiad, but it’s chilly. It feels nice on the skin. Way better than the heat, that’s for sure. You like the cold, too, right? You and Felix always used to cuddle up together. It was really cute.”

Ingrid and Felix stop sparring and join the pair. Sylvain and Ingrid exchange glances, and Ingrid takes Dimitri’s other hand. Dimitri relaxes a little bit.

“We can leave you alone if that would be easier,” she says gently. “But we’re here for you. You know that, right?”

Dimitri shakes his head slowly. “Sorry. Sorry. Not your fault. Not anyone’s fault.” He squeezes his eye shut and his breathing begins to slow down. “Sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Sylvain asks.

“I don’t-- I don’t know. I’m sorry for-- this.” Dimitri’s words are rushed, strained, and Sylvain regrets asking the question.

“Don’t try to talk right now. Just… take a moment,” Ingrid says, rubbing Dimitri’s hand gently. Felix stands awkwardly near them all, looking even more lost than Sylvain feels.

Dimitri takes Ingrid’s advice, and they sit in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally, Dimitri speaks again. “When I was… captured, I saw things. Things that weren’t real. While I was being tortured. I saw--” Dimitri’s breath hitches in his throat, and he bites his lip. “I saw you all moving on... without me, after I died. Replacing me.”

“We would never replace you. And moving on… it would happen, but it would be hard,” Ingrid insists.

“You already did, once,” Dimitri says quietly, averting his gaze. “During the war. When you thought I was dead.”

Ingrid falls silent. Sylvain doesn’t know how to respond to that.

“You’re wrong.” Felix sits down right in front of Dimitri so he can’t look anywhere else. “I tried replacing you for years, after the Tragedy of Duscur. I never could. When I thought you died at the beginning of the war, I wanted to die, too.”

This is the first that Sylvain has heard of this, and judging by Ingrid’s shocked gasp, it’s the first she’s heard of it, too.

“The war was a shitty situation because we couldn’t drop everything to look for you. But this time, we were able to, and we weren’t going to stop until we found you, because you’re not replaceable to us.”

Felix stops suddenly, eyes darting from Ingrid to Sylvain and back to Dimitri. “What?” he says, finally noticing their incredulous expressions.

“Felix, I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you do a good job of comforting someone,” Ingrid says with a smirk. Felix’s face flushes red.

“Yeah, keep going, Felix. You were doing a great job,” Sylvain says, grinning as Felix’s eyes widen in horror and he turns away.

Dimitri chuckles quietly, and at this moment, it’s the most beautiful sound Sylvain could hear. “Thank you, Felix,” he says. “Thank you, all of you. I… I feel a lot better now. I’m sorry that I panicked over nothing.”

“Stop apologizing,” Ingrid says and smacks Dimitri lightly on the wrist.

“It’s normal to be shaken after everything you just experienced,” Sylvain adds.

“Right. Yes. Thank you.” Dimitri nods and does his best to smile.

Sylvain makes a show of yawning and standing up. "Man, I'm beat. Let's go to the dining hall and grab something to eat."

"You're just saying that so you don't have to spar," Ingrid says, seeing right through him as always.

"Actually, I'm hungry, too," Dimitri says quietly.

"Great! Dimitri's vote counts for three, so we've got a clear winner," Sylvain says with a grin.

Felix rolls his eyes. "Your rules are stupid, but fine." He reaches a hand out to Dimitri to help him up, and Sylvain's smile gets wider. Felix has really changed in the last year, in a good way.

As the four of them walk to the dining hall, it feels like old times, but better. Sylvain couldn't be happier.


End file.
